Building a Help system for the next Java application with JAVAHELP 2.0

Introduction: Even Help system designers may sometimes need help, with the JAVAHELP 2.0, and finally can help. In this article, we'll show you how to use the Java platform-specific Help system APIs to build a standard, full-featured, easy-to-use system to present online information to Java application users.

From a developer's perspective, an automated help component, or help system, is usually the last thing to consider when building a Java application. But for users, the Help system is a valuable resource for learning new applications. As demand for more functional and reliable application help systems increases, so does the time and productivity burden for application developers. Fortunately, the Java platform includes an API that specializes in building application Help systems.

In this article, we'll explain how to use the JAVAHELP 2.0 API to build a standard, full-featured Help system for a simple Java application. First you build a basic application Help system that includes a set of theme files, a set of navigation files, and a set of data files. It will then show you how to make this Help system available to Java applications and customize it with text-based or graphical navigation, preset fonts, layered display windows, and searchable databases. It also describes how to implement context-sensitive features, add help systems directly to your application, consolidate multiple help systems, and create custom lightweight components for your help system. At the end of this article, I'll quickly review the server-side Help system framework for JAVAHELP 2.0.

Note: This article assumes that readers are familiar with the design considerations of building help systems and are familiar with developing enterprise applications on the Java platform. It would also help if you had some experience with Swing GUI development.

Entry

In this article, you will build a JavaHelp system for a Tax Calculator application. Figure 1 shows the Tax Calculator. The source code for this example can be found in the last reference in this article. Run FirstLook to display Tax Calculator.

Figure 1. Tax Calculator's About page

In Figure 2 you will see the navigation settings for the Tax Calculator Help system. Notice that some of the navigation icons that will be discussed later are highlighted.

Figure 2. Navigation Help system